PROTEINS
Proteins are a hugely important biological component of all living organisms and
are involved with almost all cellular activities. The cell itself compromises 50 %
protein!
Proteins are involved in the:
*transport of other components
* growth and repair of tissues
* makeup hormones
*makeup enzymes
* makeup neurotransmitters
* make up different antibodies
to name a few, thus as can be seen proteins have
a wide variety of functions that are vital to the viability of life.
Proteins are polymers made up of amino acid monomers. amino acids themselves
are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms some will also have
sulfur atoms (Cysteine). The name amino acid comes from the fact that they
contain an Amine group and a carboxylic acid group.
and these both are attached to a central carbon atom (known as the alpha
carbon)with an H atom and a variable R group attached to the alpha carbon ie
, There are twenty different amino acids (all with different R groups)that combine
together in a specific order to make the hundreds of different proteins found in
living organisms
The R groups attached can be of various types of atoms or groups of atoms
ranging from simple H atoms ( making glycine) to more complicated groups
having cyclo pentenes in their format (eg histidine). There are 20 different amino
acids all with different R groups attached.
These 20 amino acids have different combinations of arrangements in specific
orders and it is these different combinations that make the varied proteins found
in living organisms.
Proteins have 4 main structures, these are primary, secondary, tertiary and
quaternary.
Primary structure
Amino acids combine during condensation reactions which occur between the
carboxylic acid group of 1 amino acid and the amino group of a neighbouring
amino acid which produces a covalent bond between the amino acids and a water
molecule. The bond between the two amino acids is now known as a peptide
bond and many such bonds between many amino acids make up a polypeptide
Proteins are a hugely important biological component of all living organisms and
are involved with almost all cellular activities. The cell itself compromises 50 %
protein!
Proteins are involved in the:
*transport of other components
* growth and repair of tissues
* makeup hormones
*makeup enzymes
* makeup neurotransmitters
* make up different antibodies
to name a few, thus as can be seen proteins have
a wide variety of functions that are vital to the viability of life.
Proteins are polymers made up of amino acid monomers. amino acids themselves
are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms some will also have
sulfur atoms (Cysteine). The name amino acid comes from the fact that they
contain an Amine group and a carboxylic acid group.
and these both are attached to a central carbon atom (known as the alpha
carbon)with an H atom and a variable R group attached to the alpha carbon ie
, There are twenty different amino acids (all with different R groups)that combine
together in a specific order to make the hundreds of different proteins found in
living organisms
The R groups attached can be of various types of atoms or groups of atoms
ranging from simple H atoms ( making glycine) to more complicated groups
having cyclo pentenes in their format (eg histidine). There are 20 different amino
acids all with different R groups attached.
These 20 amino acids have different combinations of arrangements in specific
orders and it is these different combinations that make the varied proteins found
in living organisms.
Proteins have 4 main structures, these are primary, secondary, tertiary and
quaternary.
Primary structure
Amino acids combine during condensation reactions which occur between the
carboxylic acid group of 1 amino acid and the amino group of a neighbouring
amino acid which produces a covalent bond between the amino acids and a water
molecule. The bond between the two amino acids is now known as a peptide
bond and many such bonds between many amino acids make up a polypeptide
